[development] Reminder: Drupal Association application deadline is January 10th

[Earl Miles]

Larry Garfield wrote:
> The application is for permanent members; those that make up the general 
> assembly and have voting powers on some actions and have regular meetings and 
> so forth.  Applications have to be approved by the current permanent members.
> 
> Paid membership is open to anyone, and gets you a badge you can put on your 
> web site along with the warm-and-fuzzy feeling of supporting Drupal.  (I 
> think Kieran mentioned the other day that the DA has some 11,000 EUR for 
> server hardware now thanks to memberships.)  If you've not yet signed up for 
> paid membership, remember to do so!

IMO, the main difference is what you want to do for the Assocation and 
thus the community.

Paid membership is effectively support via donation; you get to talk 
about your membership and have a badge, and support the community that way.

Permanent members 'get' voting privileges, but it's a job. Permanent 
members are ambassadors to the community and are expected to fulfil 
various roles and actively pursue community goals. It's less of a job 
than being a board member, in that Permanent Members don't have specific 
roles, but permanent members are expected to be quite active in the 
Association, both internally and externally. It's also the job of the 
PMs to actively ensure that the Board of Directors is acting appropriately.

So while Permanent members don't pay fifty Euros a year for the 
privilege of voting, they make up for that money in time and energy spent.